Draymond Green pushed back against calling Victor Wembanyama “dirty” after Game 4 of the NBA Finals, while tying his comments to a broader claim about European players. He also pointed to Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox’s late-game mistake in San Antonio’s 29-point c
The NBA Finals have been full of momentum swings. but Draymond Green’s focus after Game 4 landed on something uglier than the scoreline. Golden State’s veteran spent time challenging the “dirty” label tied to San Antonio Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama. then pivoted to the play that helped fuel New York’s improbable 29-point comeback win.
Green questioned Wembanyama’s questionable screen in Game 4 as the Knicks turned a huge deficit into a 3-1 lead in the series. But he stopped short of directly branding Wembanyama a dirty player. Instead, he framed the argument through what he said is a specific aggressive approach he believes European players bring.
On the Draymond Green Show, Green said, “Victor Wembanyama’s a great player. Victor Wembanyama’s a European player. And I’ve been on record saying European players are dirty. and everybody’s like ‘Draymond shouldn’t say that. ’ no. Draymond will f*** you up. ” before adding. “I’m not dirty. It’s a completely different thing. and I don’t think anyone that I played against would tell you. man. he’s dirty.”.
Green’s claim didn’t stop there. He insisted fans were seeing the trait in real time through Wembanyama in the Finals and connected it to his earlier experiences.
“Victor Wembanyama is a European player; they are a bit dirty. It’s why beating France in France was such a big deal,” Green added. “Europeans want to earn our game, and they are a bit dirty. I’ve said this before.”
For all the certainty in his tone, Green left one key detail unresolved. He said he couldn’t say with certainty whether Wembanyama’s screen on Anunoby was intended to hurt the starting forward, but he accused Wembanyama of making dirty plays in the past.
The conversation then moved to a different moment—one that came back to haunt the Spurs during New York’s comeback. Green took aim at Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox. who missed a contested layup instead of dribbling the ball out after San Antonio carried a one-point lead. The misstep handed New York a critical possession, and it snowballed.
Knicks forward OG Anunoby blocked De’Aaron at the rim before converting the game-winning put-back off of Jalen Brunson’s missed three.
Green even compared Fox’s mistake to the moment JR Smith’s error became the defining image of the 2018 NBA Finals. The comparison was sharp because Fox’s lapse came with the Spurs holding a one-point advantage while already absorbing the damage of losing a 29-point lead.
In the spirit of dumbness… what was the dumber play? De’Aaron Fox laying that ball up or JR Smith vs. us in Game 1 of those finals?” Green asked the Inside the NBA crew.
Shaquille O’Neal answered immediately, calling Fox’s blunder the worst—especially given what was at stake after San Antonio coughed up a 29-point lead and was on the verge of tying the series at 2-2.
The throughline in Green’s postgame talk was tension between what he was willing to say directly and what he wouldn’t claim as fact. He pushed back against saying Wembanyama is “dirty” even while he disputed the label with a broader argument about aggression from European players. And in the same breath. he zeroed in on a late-game failure by De’Aaron Fox that turned a one-point advantage into the set-up for Anunoby’s decisive play.
For the Knicks and Spurs, Game 4’s swing is already part of Finals history. For Green. it’s become a moment to argue about intent. identity. and the line between a scrappy play and something more serious—whether it’s a screen at the center of controversy or a missed dribble that changes everything with seconds left.
Draymond Green Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs New York Knicks NBA Finals Game 4 De'Aaron Fox OG Anunoby Jalen Brunson JR Smith Shaquille O'Neal